Newcastle United 'surprised' at Premier League fixture move

Away fixtures against Southampton and Everton, postponed after Eddie Howe lost a number of players to Covid-19 and injuries over the festive period, have been scheduled for next month. They will be played on March 10 and 17 respectively, either side of a game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

And Howe’s team, 14th in the Premier League following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brentford, now faces four games in 11 days.

“Not ideal, no doubt about that,” said Howe. “We were, and I’ve got to choose my words carefully, surprised when we saw the fixture congestion that we had, especially with the amount of away games in a very short period of time.

"What can we do about it? Nothing. So we have to play the games, and we will play the games in the best way possible.”

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